Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $107.11.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Encompass Health from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Encompass Health from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 target price (up previously from $108.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Encompass Health Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of Encompass Health stock opened at $98.84 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.25. Encompass Health has a 52-week low of $63.59 and a 52-week high of $104.55. The firm has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. Encompass Health had a net margin of 8.10% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Encompass Health will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio is 16.43%.

Encompass Health announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,166,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $839,520,000 after buying an additional 169,113 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Encompass Health by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,025,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,410,000 after purchasing an additional 21,329 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Encompass Health by 16.0% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,283,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,586,000 after purchasing an additional 314,488 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,819,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,083,000 after buying an additional 22,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Encompass Health by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,598,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,966,000 after buying an additional 198,701 shares during the period. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Encompass Health

Encompass Health Corporation provides post-acute healthcare services in the United States and Puerto Rico. It owns and operates inpatient rehabilitation hospitals that provide medical, nursing, therapy, and ancillary services. The company provides specialized rehabilitative treatment on an inpatient basis to patients who have experienced physical or cognitive disabilities or injuries due to medical conditions, such as strokes, hip fractures, and various debilitating neurological conditions.